Silly me. All this time I thought that people went to college to learn stuff with their brains. Turns out, if you go to Lincoln University, what you learn with your brain doesn't matter--if your body is fat.
Here's NPR's explication:
Entering freshmen at Lincoln University have to get their body mass index, or BMI, measured. And if the result comes back above 30, the threshold for obesity, the students have to take a physical education class called "HPR 103 Fitness Walking/ Conditioning" or they can't graduate. Details here.
The requirement kicked in for students who enrolled at Lincoln in the fall of 2006. That class is now in its senior year, and most are looking forward to their graduation this spring. But for 80 seniors, graduation will hinge upon their taking phys ed or passing the required BMI test, according to minutes of a Nov. 3 faculty meeting at Lincoln.
James DeBoy, chair of the department of health, phys ed and recreation at Lincoln brought the issue up at the meeting, because he wanted to remind everyone of the requirement. About 15 percent of the entering freshman class in 2006 tested above the 30 BMI mark.[...]
"As health educators we're concerned with the whole student, not just the academic part, but all the components that make up health and wellness," (DeBoy said.)
I just can't confine myself to finding one thing wrong with this. Here's a list:
1. Only fat people need to exercise? Um, I think not. I have no problem with universities promoting fitness and exercise, provided it's required across the board. This does not seem a difficult concept. Require some PE credits for everyone. Hell, require nutrition while you're at it. Everyone--fat, skinny, tall, short, blond, brunette, whatever--can benefit from learning about eating well and exercising. Requiring a special course just for fatties is not only damaging for the stigmatized fat students but also for naturally slim people, who garner from this that they have no need for exercise.
2. "All the components that make up health and wellness" cannot be shorthanded to BMI. Fat people can be healthy. Thin people can be unhealthy. There is no magical weight at which people are immune to disease, accidents, or, you know, death. Again, if Lincoln is concerned about "all the components," I trust that they are also mandating blood tests and statins for students with high cholesterol, condoms for people with STDs, and regular liver checks for anyone who drinks--before students are allowed to graduate.
3. BMI? Is crap. As one commenter I saw recently noted, I wonder if they will make exceptions for athletes whose BMIs are in the obese range because of their muscle mass. You, Tom Cruise, you go off to learn how to condition your terrible, obese body! (Yes, technically, Tom Cruise is obese, since the measurement makes no differentiation between muscle and fat.)
4. I know this is a private college and so they can do what they like, but under no circumstances would I have gotten on a scale as a condition of my enrollment, as it sounds like these students were required to do. My weight is between me and my doctor, not me and my doctor and the college president and some random professor and the registrar's office.
I sure hope it doesn't take a lawsuit to get Lincoln to see the light.
Edited to add: I think Well-Rounded Mama and I were writing our posts simultaneously. She came up with more reasons, so go check out her post on Lincoln as well!